This blog joins all Gabonese of good will in expressing our solidarity with the evictees of Akanda, because these forced evictions are both inhumane and against the law. There is a judicial process underway and the regime has resulted to use force where none was necessary at this time.

The reality is that these people decided to occupy these houses after they had been for all intent and purposes abandoned by the regime who was procrastinating to move this project to its conclusion. These people did clean up the premises and made them viable. It is only then that the regime remembered that these houses could be useful to them and decided to evict the squatters.

The Gabonese public opinion should look at the situation fairly and not just buy the administration’s version of the story. The residents are blamed for squatting, but the reality is that it is the disorganized authorities and their lack of planning that exacerbated the decision of the population to occupy the premises in the first place.

These are Gabonese citizens who are being forcibly evicted to nowhere with their families; and it is unacceptable to us.

English version Dear compatriots, Your dialogue begins on March 28, we are told. Have fun, the food will certainly be excellent and the drinks as well; but especially, the per diem will have to be significant because you would not go for nothing! We would just like, right now, to remind you of some principles; for when we will expose them to you after your dialogue, which will be a failure, do not say to us: "I did not know!" On democracy, political scientists say: "So worth the elections, so much is a nation." What does that mean? Simply that voting is a citizen duty, a sovereign power of the people to say yes or no to those who claim or want to lead them. In the case of Gabon, on 27 August 2016, the majority of Gabonese clearly said no to corruption, no to the profiteers, not to state banditry, not to monarchy; but yes to a new experience, yes to the rule of law, yes to competence, yes to pluralism etc... Not only did Ali Bongo rob th…